morning. elizabeth warren handpicked by the president to protect you, the american consumer. he's live in the "american morning" studios and hitting the road ready to reform the way the banks write mortgages. elizabeth warren joins us live in ten minutes. rebuilding haiti. eight months after a devastating earthquake, how much progress is being made and is the world doing enough to help? jason carroll just ahead. we have the a.m. fix blog ahead. head to cnn.com/amfix. up first this morning, laying out the blueprint. today, republican leaders will tell voters how they would govern if they take about congress in november, in a 21-page pledge to america. >> yes, we have a copy here at cnn. it basically plans to unravel, in some cases, president obama's first two years in office. it first starts by a saying,

quote, the arrow go and out of touch government of self-appointed elites makes decisions issues mandates and e-mails laws without. >> and that means big changes are finally kick in for you. that could reignite the fight over reform just in time for the midterm elections. jim acosta live for us in washington breaking it down. good morning, jim. >> good morning, john and kiran. no big parties for the six-month anniversary of health care reform today, a slew of provisions go in effect. take, for example, a ban of insurance companies that discriminate against children with preexisting conditions. republicans vow they would take a big ax to this health care if they're put in charge. >> i would fight to repeal the bill. >> reporter: it's a gop battle

cry for the midterm legislations. >> the american people will be heard, and we'll repeal and replace. >> i have pledged as my first act of legislation to put in a repeal obama care law. >> reporter: if republicans win a majority of seats in congress, one of the first seats they promise to do is repeal president obama's signature achievement. health care reform. >> what's your response to that? >> reporter: under a new gop-controlled house, texas congressman joe barton would likely become the key chairman overseeing health care. he said it would begin as soon as january to dismantle the law. >> if given the opportunity, we are going to try to repeal it. with something that makes sense. >> right away? >> well, the sooner the better. >> reporter: that threat comes when new portions of the law go in effect this week. that includes dropping policies for people who get sick. big expansion of coverage don't

come until 2014. still, recent polls show the law remains unpopular. >> i voted against the health care bill because i thought it would be too expensive. >> reporter: even some democrats are running against it. health and human services secretary kathleen sebelius argues the law will come around. >> why is this law so unpopular? >> i think it's more confusing than popular. >> you would grant that it's unpopular right now? it's not as popular as you would like? >> that's accurate. i think it's based, though, a lot on people believing that the law contains elements that it doesn't have. death panels. >> you're ready to have this debate all over again? >> i am indeed. >> reporter: so does the president who points to parts of the bill that aren't popular. >> if young people don't have health insurance through their employer, they can stay on their parents' health insurance up to the age of 26.

>> reporter: parts congressman barton wants to keep. are there portions of the law that should be kept? >> i think coverage of preexisting condition. the ability to keep your insurance and not have it revoked. unless you committed fraud. >> reporter: other republicans say scrap the whole thing. conservative activist alice cortez with the group defunded.org says the solution is starve the law of money. >> we will not let kathleen sebelius implement and enforce this law. >> tingering with health care reform would not be easy. any bill changing the law would likely be vetoed. republicans say just because they may not have the votes doesn't mean they won't try. john and keeper. >> jim acosta this morning in washington. jim, thanks. 6:40 eastern, we're going to talk with health care economist

paul connectiechley that will b. head to cnnpolitics.com. well, this morning, there's new sex abuse allegations against megachurch pastor eddie long. the third man is now suing bishop long claiming he was also coerced into sex with pastor long when he was a teenager. the bishop is supposed to discuss it today but he's now canceled a morning radio show and afternoon news conference. three more victims have been identified from that deadly gas explosion at san bruno, california, the death toll now stands at seven. the victims were all from the same family. >> 5 million cans of sim ma lack powdered infant formula are now recalled. they found beatles, bugs, in a michigan plant that facility is

being shut down. the recall involves similac 12.5 ounce cans. and the chopper in jamaica bay was 30 yards from its landing field in brooklyn when it went down. none of the six people on board were hurt. >> very lucky. it's a harvest moon, on the first day of fall. it is the first time in almost 20 years that the stars have aligned for an event like this. it's just gorgeous. i saw it yesterday coming in. spectacular view of jupiter out there as well. and rob marciano is in the extreme weather center. i know you like to see things like this. we talk about blue moons at times and now a super harvest moon. >> yeah, and whohowl at the moo?

listen, guys, if you saw it, it was beautiful. check out numbers as far as the record-high temperatures yelled. louisville, 99 degrees. another record in alabama. nerve. nashville, tennessee, 96. georgetown, delaware, 92, even up around the major cities seeing well-above average temperatures and we'll see that again today. as far as the rainfall, it's really across the midwest and the intermountain west. and that's pretty much where it will stay, there will be a threat for severe weather across this area later on today, as a slow-moving front makes its way slowly to the east. in the meantime, though, it will be pretty toasty for this first full day of fall. with high temperatures today where the cold front isn't, 15 to 20 degrees above average. 91 in st. louis. that will be 91 degrees in d.c. 79 in new york. it will kind of get back into

the warmth, i think, tomorrow. but pretty toasty out there for you folks who are enjoying that fall harvest moon. >> 91 degrees in washington today, wow. >> feels like fall. >> shine on, rob. thanks. in just a moment, elizabeth warren, the woman who is taking on wall street, she is the president's special adviser on consumer protection. she's going to tell us how she's already taking aim at credit card and mortgage companies. stay with us. eight minutes after the hour. you. you can save up to half off that sale when you name your own price on priceline. but this one's a deal...trust me. it's only pretending to be a deal. here, bid $79. got it. wow! you win this time good twin! there's no disguising the real deal. down the hill? man: all right.

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♪ 11 minutes now after the hour. keep it simple, that's elizabeth warren's plan. the handpicked special adviser to the president has been asked to create a new consumer protection bureau to make sure that the wall street giants play by the rules. >> and the first thing that warren wants to tackle is the duplicated, often convoluted credit card agreements. she says most americans don't understand what they're signing. good to have you here. >> it's good to be here. >> first of all, what is your vision for the consumer protection agency? what do you want it to be and to do? >> you know, we have a consumer credit market. it's broken in the sense, unlike most markets when consumers go out to shop, to decide to take out a credit card or take out a

mortgage or car loan, you can't really compare the products because they've gotten long, they've gotten complicated. they're full of fine print. here's the bad thing. they've got a bunch of tricks and traps in them. what appears to be the price, low, low, 7% financing. zero percent financing, it's in the case in some of these lender, they're getting a lottery ticket. and that is they're hoping you'll take their low, low price because buried back in the fine print, they intend to make a lot of money. >> since you were named to the position on friday. i know you've reached out to the industry, lobbying groupses, other consume advocates seeking cooperation. what's the climate out there? are you really fighting an uphill battle here? >> well, one never knows. but i have to say the meetings with folks in street have been really good.

and i think the reason for is that more of them say, this isn't sustainable, this isn't going to work over time. they see the numbers. people are unhappy about their credit cards. they're unhappy about fine print. and i think there are more lenders now who want to get on the side of their customers. you know, if you can get some, the point of regulation is only to make sure you drag the reluctant ones along. >> the argument's been made, though, these companies, especially credit card companies are going to find ways to make money on the backs of consumers. people are starting to charge annual fees before where they didn't before. how are-k you assure what is enacted will in the end benefit customers? >> here's my view on this. whapgs right now, it's a pretend price and a real price. so you have no real competition, right? everybody looks at this and

says, gee, this is the zero percent card versus the 3% card. if we can get the prices simpler, so the prices are clear up front, then the prices are actually having to compete head to head. and the card issuers who are charging most are going to find themselves with fewer customers. that's how markets work. >> you have said that your goal to get to a two-page credit card agreement. which is a noble goal, you can really do that? >> the basics of it are pretty simple, right? it's about what the interest rate is going to be. what the penalty rate is going to be. what triggers a penalty. if we can't get this thing down to two page, it's something wrong. >> it's always seems simple, but then the devil is in the details. >> well, the devil has made a lot of money for-n details for some folks. let me remind you back in 1990,

the credit card agreement for bank of america was about 700 pages long. >> you mean 700 words long. >> did i say pages? it's early. i do want to make a point on the credit card companies, there have also been layered in regulations. they've got to do this. hit this point. consumers don't read most of that stuff. in fact, most of it is unreadable. so part of the job of this agency is to come through with a pair of scissors and take out the regulations that are doing nothing but driving up costs, not providing any benefit for the consumers. and get rid of those. that will help shrink it some. and then it's up to the companies, and this agency, to work together, to shrink it down to something that's useful to the consumer. >> now, i'm sure it doesn't come as a surprise to you that you have critics in the financial world. some of them are saying the problem is you're coming from an

antibusiness point of view and you're not really giving them a chance. and some come from the academic world so you don't really understand the intricacies of how these financial institutions work. how do you respond to those critics? >> partly, you're right, and i want to learn. so teach me more about how this works. but partly it's to say, i've been studying for 30 years what goes on in the financial services industry and what the products look like and what the impact is on the middle class families. middle class families expect to pay for services that they receive. they expect to have to be personally responsible for things they put on their credit cards or for the car loans they take out. what they have a right not to expect, what they have a right to object to is when they think they're getting something at one price, and they find out that the real price is the thing buried back in the fine print.

all the costs that you don't know, until they've bit you and now it's too late. saw a piece the other day, some of these credit card, free credit cards on average, $300 a year. >> one of the points that's been made, you were appointed to a consultant or advisory position that screwed around that you would need senate confirmation to achieve your position. knew you said, if i get in there right now, i have an opportunity to work right now as opposed to getting through the senate confirmation process. but can you really have the trust of the people if you don't go through the process? >> the statute specifically provides that someone is supposed to come in and start building this agency. the better way to understand, there were two options. one option is to go -- >> okay. but the broader point of whether or not you can really have the confidence of the american people and congress if you're not confirmed by the senate? >> you know, the question was,

if we go to confirmation, i'm not the political person. i don't understand this. i don't understand what goes on in washington. but if i go to confirmation, what i'm told, it could take even a year, without my getting a hearing. two terrible things happen in that year. i can't do one bit of work on this agency. i'm completely fenced off from it. and the second is i can't talk about it. when president and i talked about this, he is very committed to the agency. he said, we could go the nomination route, or you don't get as nice a title, because the statute needs someone to get to work. >> but again, will you have the confidence? >> well, that's what i'll find out. i'm going to do the best i can, i'll tell you, if i'm not doing my job in a good way, then i ought to be pitched out. >> why did you want to sign up for it? it's a big task and you're going to be takes hits from all sides? >> you know, middle class

families have been hit, squeezed chipped at for 30 years now. and it's gotten worse and worse and worse. for the first time, thanks to the changes that congress has put into law and president has signed, we now have the tools on the table to repair at least one big part of that. and if i can be helpful in any way at all, that's what i'll do. >> well, it's great having you with us this morning. >> very good having you with us. thanks for dropping by. >> good luck, you'll need it. we'll take a quick break. when we come back, we're talking about coffee lovers. >> yeah, they're going to be steamed because they're going to be digging deeper at starbucks. "minding your business." [ female announcer ] imagine skin so healthy, it never gets dry again. can your moisturizer do that? [ female announcer ] dermatologist recommended aveeno has an oat formula,

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it's 22 1/2 minutes after the hour. we're back with the most news in the morning, "minding your business" this morning. facebook founder mark zuckerberg is reportedly donates $100 million to new york's public school system, according to "the new york times." zuckerberg and corey booker will apparently make the announcement on "oprah" tomorrow. only half of the city's students currently graduate from high school. >> yeah. a lot of people saying why is mark zuckerberg from california doing this in new jersey. he and corey booker, apparently, are friends. >> facebook friends. well the next time you order that half calf, toffee, soy light no ice, be prepared to pay the price. starbucks is announcing it's raising the copy of its, quote,

labor-intensive and larger-size beverages. starbucks says it's flagship tall coffee will remain $1.50. >> i can't figure that out. coffee prices are rising but only ant labor intensive prices? >> yeah, for example, if you're behind someone who is ordering what i just said and all you want is a black kovgs it's a pain. >> maybe the prices should go down. coming up, the long hard road to recovery in haiti. the country's prime minister says they're making progress there, despite a trickle of international aid. jason carroll's exclusive interview coming up next. ♪

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new york this week, he's reporting to the u.n. general assembly on his nation's attempts at recovery. our jason carroll had an exclusive interview. he joins us with more. you look at the images, you think, that must have been right after the earthquake? >> and it's today, that's what's so sobering. it was eye-opening having the conversation with the prime minister yesterday. one of the things he said, don't expect a speedy recovery here. the prime minister also telling me while many countries pledged to donate to the relief effort, much of those donations have yet to come in. and he says much more money will be needed to rebuild. that's part of the reason why an organization called the interim haiti recovery commission was formed. and he's speaking to the general assembly this week. >> people are living right now in tents. it's very hard right now. throughout the night, you have heavy winds. you have your children not going to school.

and you have your wife that is here. i can assure you that you'd be frustrated also. >> i remember the tents. the thought was at this point those tents would not be there. at this point, you still have 1.5 million people still living in those tents? >> they're going to for some time. you're not going to solve the problem, the magnitude of that challenge, in months. we're thinking about years. and we are thinking about lots and lots of money. >> are you satisfied with the way that the money that has been pledged has been released to your country, or not? >> again, the first thing we have do is say thanks. but it's not. we have to work together for the international committee to improve the way the money is

getting to haiti. right now, it's not getting to haiti in a way so we can have enough visibility for the population to feel that all that could have been done is being done. >> but it's got to be a worry for you? >> it is a worry for us. but i have full confidence that every government that made a pledge to haiti is going to respect it. i have no reason to believe it won't. we rebuilt in a commission that is in fact entering what we call a recommission. one of the reason we have tt commission is to understand what is needed in haiti. on public money, on private money. with coordination coming from this country. and certainly, they know that they have to find more financing. >> what the point does the haitian government share

responsibility or blame, in terms of why the haitian people are still living in these conditions? >> 100% we should be blamed. i'm responsible for the government. so what does that mean to the nation, i'm responsible. i'm not going to try to say it's the commission. at the end of the day, i'm responsible for the institution of the nation. >> just to put this into some perspective. so far out of $5 billion pledged, only 18% of that has been dispersed. that's part of the reason why there are still some 1.5 million people still living in those temporary camps. and why much of the rubble has not been cleared and more of the rebuilding has not gotten under way. >> he's saying, i'm responsible, but what's he doing? >> part of what he's doing, this commission has been formed. he's on the commission. he's speak to get u.n. general

assembly this week, trying to get more money pledged into the country back to the country. over $11 million has been pledged. but the prime minister told me yesterday, he said, it's going to cost just that much just to clear away the rubble. that doesn't even include rebuilding, adding temporary housing. so much more is going to be needed. he's taken on the responsibility. it's a heavy load. >> eight months out, this is unfortunately not where many thought they'd be. we'll see what happens. thank, jason. it means it's time for the top stories this thursday morning. republicans promising to repeal what may be the biggest achievement of president obama's first two years, the health care reform bill. going to have to win control of congress in november to even attempt it. it's part of their new pledge to america that will be unveiled today. president obama says it's good politics for the gop but bad for america. bishop eddie long the megachurch pastor at the center of the sex abuse scandal will not be addressing allegations today.

he canceled an appearance with roland martin on the morning show. and a third man has now filed suit against bishop long, claiming he also was lured into a sexual relationship with the pastor when he was a teenager. president obama will warn of more bloodshed when he speaks at the united nations today. the experts say the palestinians and israelis much reach a peace deal and other countries must do what they did. and a hero's good-bye for servicemembers who died in southern afghan san francisco their bodies arrived in dover, delaware, yesterday, draped in american flags. >> five of the victims were from the army, four from the navy and three of those men were navy s.e.a.l.s. we're learning more about why they were on this mission.

our kaj larsen is joining us. what are you finding out, kaj, about the type of mission those men might have been on? >> good morning. the navy is not releasing eye any details about the specifics of the mission. the reason is, it's occur, in zabul prauvs convince. province. it's been an active area. what we can deduce of what happened, it was a four-man element. generally, a s.e.a.l. platoon is priced of 12. a four-man could indicate they were on a special reconnaissance mission. that would involve looking and

gathering information about official targets in the area. that's most likely the case here. >> you talk about the human toll, obviously, every life that's lost in the service is a tragedy. but you talk about the s.e.a.l.s, how irplaceable they are because of the training they go through. how big of a loss is this for the military? >> it is a loss. it's a tough day for my community in particular. we have an adage in special forces that we emphasize humans, not hardware, some each individual s.e.a.l. costs somewhere between $500,000 to $1 million to train each s.e.a.l. sometimes over 2 1/2 years before you're given the covenant to be able to operate. that's an extraordinary amount of training for each individual

soldier. an extraordinary investment that going into each individual s.e.a.l. in this case. another adage, we can, you can't mass produce special forces. these three s.e.a.l.s and the tech that was killed alongside them, they will not easily be replaced. >> as you said, kaj, a huge loss for the entire military. nine families mourning the loss of their loved ones. kaj larsen with us. coming up, six months after health care reform. big changes kick in today. 36 minutes after the hour. i sometimes refer to myself as the child they kidnapped. eat here, sleep here. sing now.

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♪ money can't wait 40 minutes now after the hour. we're back with the most news in the morning. six months after the passage of the health care reform bill, some key components are kicking in today, what are they going to mean for you the health care consumer. joining us now is paul keckley. great to see you this morning. >> good morning. >> some of the changes taking place today, no exclusion for

children, with preexisting conditions? >> right, under 19 years of age. >> no lifetime limits on coverage. >> right. >> we have it now. no excluding children for preexisting conditions. no lifetime limits on coverage. young adults get to stay on their parents' plans until the age of 26. no co-pay for in-network procedures, preventive procedures, mammograms, colonoscopies. how significant are these changes going in effect? how many people were benefit from it? >> well, another 1.2 million will be covered as a result of the 19 to 26 provisions, so that's promising. it's a significant number. but, you know, the bill's very complex. the last 180 days have been a race. and what's ahead is very complicated, the next three years. >> this idea of no lifetime limits on medical coverage, important for many people, because in the year 2007, 60% of

individuals who declared bankruptcy, cited medical costs as a reason for it. >> yeah. it's hard to imagine what future health costs will be for yin. so the surprise factor catches a lot of people, even middle class and upper class folks, with a big bill, they can't pay. >> so did the health care bill, as we said, says that the insurance companies cannot exclude children under the age of 19. >> correct. >> 19 and under, if they have a preexisting condition. >> correct. >> but in california and other states, some insurance companies are already saying, well, we're not going to write any new policies for children. these are big competes like aetna, well-point, signa. how much of a cat and mouse game is going to be played here? >> no one knows for sure. companies actually recover the costs of being regulated in new way, in addition to medical

care. i think anyone looking at this bill would say, whether you're a consumer or a health plan or a pharmaceutical company, very complicated. lots of surprises. a lot of adjustments that have to be made. and at the end of the day, the consumer isn't going to pay indirectly for a lot of that. >> and some of the biggest provisions don't kick in for another three years. 2014 is the year for that. let's put them up on the screen so people can see this. right now, children cannot been excluded for preexisting conditions. this is also the tile when the insurance exchanges kick in to allow people who don't have a health care policy or want to change can go shopping. how significant are those changes going to be? >> well, every state has to set up an exchange by 2014. and every consumer has to have at least a number of options to choose. so it's a big job for the states. it's a challenge to states that are facing declining revenues already, that they can actually do all of the things that they're expected to do.

but, again, will people buy insurance, even with subsidies? will employers continue to provide health benefits after 2014, or maybe exit benefits altogether. and can states do all the work they have to do? those are big bets. >> those are some of the big questions still out there. the kcensus bureau says in 2009 the amount of people uninsured is great than 50 million. it's up 10% in just a year. the problem is going so quickly, you have to wonder if the health care reform can keep up. >> well, the health care reform is also part of the economy. 23% of the federal budget is health care. economic recovery, and health reform, side by side, you can't separate them. so for every one-point increase in unemployment, you add another million people to medicaid rolls. you add another million people

to the uninsured. that's what we're seeing. >> obviously, there was a lot of opposition to health care reform. 40% of americans asked in an ap poll disapprove of it. 30% approve. the republicans for the new pledge to america are promising that if they gain the majority in chang, they're going to try to take apart this bill and do it all over again. is there a better way? >> no one knows for sure. the president, february 24th, 2009 said we'll pass a bill this year, we'll reduce costs and cover everyone. the bill will take another three years to implement. all the changes coming from the bill may or may not reduce costs. they do cover a lot more people. we have to wait and see. >> thanks for dropping by. appreciate it. keeper? >> all right, thanks. well, no joke, stephen colbert not only holding a rally in washington, he's also scheduled to testify before congress. we're getting details from the cnnpolitics.com desk coming up. 45 minutes past the hour.

♪ i thought it was over here... ♪ [car horn honks] our outback always gets us there... ... sometimes it just takes us a little longer to get back. ♪

48 minutes past the hour right now. we get a check on the morning's headlines. rob marciano is in the extreme weather center. talk about extreme, last night, man, we had a lightning storm. the lightning was unbelievable. >> yeah. the lightning show across the northeast yesterday. those storms have moved on. it sunk to the south.

you won't be quite as hot as yesterday, but everyone south of there is going to be hot. look at the cool air in the southeastern third of the country and all this rain. some of this is tropically fed. take a look at what happened in tucson yesterday. you don't need a lot, a half inch of rain in a few hour, boom, you get flash flooding. that's what's happening on roads in and around tucson. a lot of water. they're starting to see some of that drain today. minneapolis through southern minnesota you're getting some of this moisture as well today. we have flash flood warnings out for parts of southern minnesota. i think that's where most of the rain will stay today. over 5 inches of rainfall in these areas yesterday. we could see another 2 to 3 inches of rainfall throughout the day. the other big story, the record heat. some of the highs, two days ago, the latest they've been that wam. louisville, 99 degrees. memphis, tennessee, 96. georgetown, delaware, 92 degrees. 91 expected in d.c.

91 degrees expected in st. louis. i want to touch on what's going on down in the caribbean. this area of disturbed weather, we still think this is probably going to develop into a tropical depression or storm. they can-w going to fly hurricane hunters into that area yesterday. they canceled that. they may take a trip later today. they were a little concerned. right now, things are cool. back to you guys. >> are they going to track that storm? >> usually, they wait before they start flying in to trust computer models that we trust. the indication is they'll get close to the gulf of mexico if not into it later this week. >> rob, thanks. look for an update coming up. the senate is set to vote on a bill that could change the way votes are won and run. our political desk coming right up. [ male announcer ] this rock has never stood still.

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we're breaking down new poll numbers from colorado to wisconsin. >> our senior political editor mark preston is live at the cnnpolitics.com desk this morning. >> hey, we're trying to find out where the contests are and really-v where the voters are. first at colorado, there's a senate race out there. michael bennett, he was appointed to that seat. he was a democrat when ken salazar decided to join the obama administration. however, he is in for a tough fight to win that seat on his own. ken buck, the tea party

favorite, currently holds five-point lead over michael bennett. that race is 49-44. moving into wisconsin, republicans are very bullish over the fact that they think they can knock off the incumbent senator, the democrat, russ feingold who really is a darling for progressives across the country. wes feingold trailing in that race to ron johnson, a small businessman who came out of nowhere by six points. russ feingold, 45, johnson, 51. i'm going to leave that for you folks go to cnnpolitics.com to check out the numbers in the races. moving on, here in washington, d.c., a very big vote today regarding the future of campaign finance spending, specifically when it comes to tigs ads. democrats are trying to bring up a vote on what's known as the disclose act. this is in regards to a supreme court decision earlier this year that lifted restrictions on what corporations and individuals

could do and say on campaign advertising. right now, republicans say that the supreme got it right and that it's a violation of free speech to put restrictions on this advertising. however, democrats say the fact is these restrictions are needs because people with deep pockets and corporations can really influence elections. that vote later this afternoon. right now, it looks like republicans have enough votes to stop that from moving forward. and let's close it out with this, stephen colbert is coming to testify on capitol hill. i kid not. in fact, stephen colbert is talking about the whole idea of immigration. last night, he did a segment on the show where he agreed to actually go out and work as an illegal immigrant on a farm up in new york. well, he's going to testify at the house of representatives on friday. he's going to talk about the whole issue of illegal immigration. the big question is, will he act like he does on tv or will he be the stephen colbert of normal.

well check that out tomorrow. >> they swear you in for those hearings, right? >> they absolutely swear you in for those hearings. >> so he has to be himself. >> it would be pretty difficult to stay in character if you're sworn in. >> no doubt. but interesting to see. >> mark, thanks so much. we'll check back in with mark in the next hour. a reminder for all the political news go to our website at cnn.com. >> we'll take a quick break. the top stories coming up. it's 57 minutes past the hour.

-- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com the pledge to america. >> to prevent obama care from being implemented. >> republicans rolling out their

election strategy. unravel the obama agenda. starting with health care. >> when i say health care, i mean everything. >> power on the line, the decision on your hands. on the most politics in the morning. good mornings thanks so much for joining us on this thursday. friday eve, september 23rd. i'm john roberts. >> i'm kiran chetry. we'll have more on the gop's pledge to america in a moment. first other top stories. the health care law now six months old, expanded options an new protections headed your way as the gop is promised to repeal it all if they can. more on the gop pledge to america and how the insurance could change today. more allegations of sexual abuse against megachurch pastor eddie long. a third man now claims that he was lured into having sex with the bishop as a teenager. long's attorneys deny the allegations but the bishop

himself will not discuss the scandal today. he has canceled a planned radio interview. hard books apparently gathering dust. ebooks could represent 50% of their revenue. novelist steven king told elena cho that he published a book online years before the idea took off. i think i remember remembering it in parts. what he says about the fate of the written word at 7:20 eastern. up first this morning, now, laying out the blueprint today, republican leaders will tell voters how they would govern if they take back congress in november, in a 21-page long pledge to america. >> we have a copy of it. it promises to unravel president obama's first two years in office. and it starts with an preamble by say, quote, an arrogant and out of touch government makes decisions, issues mandates and

accepts law without question egg the input of many. the republicans promising to repeal president obama's health care law and ban federal funding of abortion. >> in america today, on capitol hill, they're making a florch america out a hardware store. our dana bash is there, outside of d.c., sterling, virginia, this morning. a lot of what's in the pledge seems to be classic republican ideas that we've heard for some time now, years, as a meat of fact, anything new in here? >> reporter: well, i think what's new and what's most interesting is the way that house republicans are trying to make the tea parties voters, especially understand that they are trying to listen to them. i think we have some examples of points that i saw were clear indications that they were trying to reach out. little things. for example, weekly votes on spending cuts.

a pledge to cut congress's budget. a net hiring freeze of nonsecurity federal employees. and a vote on every regulation costing more than $100 million. those, each of those, is a nod to the idea that many in the base, you know, you hear republicans talking about this rebellion. rebellion is in large part about spending. so these are little things that the house republicans say they will try to do to address that. in addition to that there are some items in here that address the whole idea at that government is broken, the way congress works is broken. so there is a promise to, for example, rebuild for three days where before there's any vote. things like that. that, i think is most notewor y noteworthy. whether it will be enough is the question. >> we've got less than six weeks now before the midterm elections. are they hope for a similar effect here this year? >> you know what's really

fascinating about this, republican strategists have been say for months and months and months, that these republicans if they really want to have the sweep that they hope they will have, they've got to give voters a reason to vote for them. that is what this pledge to america is all about. however, what is interesting in talking to many house republicans, even the authors of this who worked for months on this, they say it's actually, in this election year, perhaps not as important. because they still think that their number one issue that could ride them in is anger towards the democrats. anger at president obama and democratic leaders in congress. what they hope this does, john, take that voter who is mad at the democrats but still remembers that they didn't like republicans much either that this gives them a reason to say, maybe they're listening. maybe they've changed even a little bit. i'll give them another chance. >> dana bash in sterling, virginia. by the way we're going to be talking with congressman paul ryan of wisconsin in the next

hour of "american morning." more detail to the pledge of america because he was one of the authors. >> that's right. and how they're going to convince the american people that they actually have the ride ideas. it will be interesting to see what he says. in the meantime, we were think weg were going to hear from the megachurch pastor at the center of the growing sex scandal. now, that appears not to be the case. eddie long was supposed to appear on a radio program today and hold a press conference. that appears to be off. three men now accused long of luring them into having sex as teenagers. long's attorneys deny the charges with the bishop himself is not talking now. he's canceled that radio interview, as well as the afternoon press conference. and two city officials arrested in a bell county salary scandal are out on bail this morning. they are charged along with six hours of draining the city's treasury to the tune of more than $5.5 million. the two released after proving their bail money did not come

from stolen tax dollars. five members of a u.s. army killed when their chopper went down in southern afghanistan. their bodies arrived in dover, delaware, draped in american flags. nine people were killed in total. it was the worst chopper attack in four years. it happens in zabul province. it's one of the areas where troops have been. >> the five from army, major robert baldwin from illinois, chief warrant officer matthew staff from utah. staff sergeant joshua powell from illinois, and sergeant marvin calhoun from indiana. >> and four others from the navy. lieutenant brendon looney of maryland. senior chief petty officer david mcclendon of georgia. petty officer adam smith of

missouri. and dennis miranda of new jersey. three were elite navy s.e.a.l.s. we're learning more of why they're on the mission. our own kaj larsen is also a navy s.e.a.l. kaj, give us an idea of the work they may have been on in that area in afghanistan? >> sure. keeper. s.e.a.l.s are the mer ra time component, s.e.a.l. stands for sea, land and air. a general s.e.a.l. platoon is usually comprised of 12 to 16 members. often, they'll break off into smaller elements, like the four-man fire team that went down in the helicopter in zabul province. that could indicate that they were on a mission. a special reconnaissance mission. that's a pretty standard mission that they form quite often. what's interesting to note about

this particular case, is we're getting reports that the crash occurred on insertion. there's five phases. insertion, infiltrations, action on the objective, and extraction. this occurred at the insertion phase. which goes to show sometimes it's not the mission itself, but getting there is the most dangerous part. >> talk about the millions of dollars that go into training these elite men who become s.e.a.l.s eventually. yet, you also, when i was talking to you yesterday, you said there's some concerns about the some of the safety or the ability of these helicopters to actually, you know, be as safe as they need to be. why does it seem that we talk about these chopper crashes on quite a regular basis, both in iraq and afghanistan? >> sure. well, kiran, like we were talking about yesterday in the office, some of these air frames are very old. in addition, these guys are flying all the time.

the terrain, the operating environment out there is very arduous. that's very difficult not just on the operators, but on the equipment as well. initial reports say that this appears to be helicopter crash, not as a result of enemy fire. so we can see that sometimes just the sheer number of hours and the sheer number of missions that these guys puts a lot of stress on the aircraft itself. and i think in the larger picture, as you read the names out this morning, it's an indicator of just how difficult the going is over there. but also, just how hard our soldiers and sailors are working. >> absolutely. the bottom line, could they build a safer helicopter? a safer method of transporting into these areas? >> you know, it's -- they could, of course. but the army air crews that fly guys like my teammates and my colleagues around, these are

some of the most professional guys in the world. and they work with the equipment they've got. and they do their best to keep those birds in the air. so i think ultimately, we'd like safer insertion platforms. but we also understand that this say wartime environment. and the mission has to get done regardless. >> kaj larsen for us this morning. great perspective. thanks. coming up at ten minutes after the hour, let's get a quick check of this morning's weather headlines. rob marciano is tracking it all in atlanta. what are we in for today, job. >> well, not the rough weather that you saw yesterday. there was a line of thunderstorms that kicked across the i-95 corridor, check out the damage in wilkes-barre, pennsylvania, just south of scranton where winds took down trees and all sorts of nastiness. not only through eastern pennsylvania but across other parts of more popular areas like philadelphia and new york city.

another rough day, with strong thunderstorms. with the heat that built up. my goodness, look at that. big old trees coming down there. we don't expect that today. there was kind of a back door cool front that slid down south of new york so you won't be quite as hot as yesterday. other sorries will be like they were yesterday. louisville, 99 degrees. memphis, tennessee, 96 degrees. and today is the first full day of fall. mother nature is kernel not cooperating on that. it feels more like july. we'll talk about that and what's going on in the tropics. >> he says it like it's a bad thing that it more like july than fall. >> we had a rough july. i don't know about you guys, i'm ready for cooler weather. and it's a lot hotter in atlanta. >> amen. >> well, you didn't have to leave new york, rob. >> i appreciate that. well, it's been six months and today, changes coming your way because of the new health care law. we'll tell you what they are, how they can affect you, your

children, your family, next time you go to your doctor. it's 12 minutes past the hour. [ female announcer ] sometimes you need tomorrow to finish what you started today. for the aches and sleeplessness in between, there's new motrin pm. no other medicine, not even advil pm, is more effective for pain and sleeplessness. new motrin pm.

the american people will be heard and we'll repeal and replace. >> i have pledged as my first act of legislation to put in a repeal obama care law. >> reporter: if republicans minute a majority of seats in congress, one of the first things they promise to do is repeal president obama's signature achievement. health care reform. >> no response. >> reporter: under a new gop controlled house, texas

congressman joe barton would likely become chairman of the key house committee overseeing health care. he says hearings will begin as soon as january to dismantle the law. >> if we're given the opportunity to be in the majority, we are going to try to repeal it. and then replace -- >> right away? >> with something that makes sense. well, the sooner the better. >> reporter: that threat comes as new portions of the law go in effect this week, provisions that stop insureds from denying coverage to children with preexisting conditions or dropping policies for people who get sick. big expansion of coverage don't come until 2014. still, recent polls show the law remains unpopular. >> i voted against the health care bill because i thought it would be too expensive. >> reporter: even some democrats are running against it. health and human services secretary kathleen sebelius argues the law will come around. why is the law so unpopular? >> i think it's more confusing than unpopular. >> you'll grant that it's unpopular right now? it's not as popular as you would like? >> well, that's accurate.

i think it's based, though, a lot on people believing that the law contains elements that it doesn't have, death panels. >> you're ready to have this debate all over again. >> i am indeed. >> reporter: so is the president who points to parts of the bill that are popular. >> if young people don't have health insurance through their employer, that they can stay on their parents' health insurance, up to the age of 26. >> reporter: parts congressman barton wants to keep. are there portions of the law that should be kept? >> i think coverage preexisting condition. the ability to keep your insurance and not have it revoked -- >> your decisions? >> unless you committed fraud. >> reporter: other republicans say scrap the whole thing, conservative activist ellis.

>> we will not let kathleen sebelius enforce this law. >> tnkerring with the bill would not be easy. any changing of the law would likely be vetoed by the president and republicans say just because they may nat have the votes doesn't mean they won't try. john. >> powerful election year issue to be sure. jim acosta for us in washington. jim, thanks. kiran? >> all right. well, a lot of people love to tuck into a comfy chair with a good book. but it just doesn't seem to look the same. ebooks are all the rage. people using their kindle, ipads. what one of the most thrilling authors of our time think about the fate of the fading word. our elena cho stitts down with him.

♪ ♪ i want to be a paper back writer paper back writer ♪ 21 minutes after the hour, just three years, the kindle has become the most popular e-book reader on amazon. the website is now sell morgue e-books than hard covers.

>> yep, a lot of people think the next generation of e-books with video could leave the printed word in the dust. elena cho sat down with one of the most famous writers in the world. we're talking steven king here. >> yeah, steven king. >> i could pull his entire collection like this. >> that's right. >> some people are excited about it, some people think it's sad. steven king does know a thing or two about death and dying. more than 40 books to his name. one of the best-selling authors of all time. did you know he's also considered to be the father of some, one of the fathers of ebooks. one of the first to publish online. is it good for the industry? king says the answer is yes and yes. "the shining," "misery," the mere mention of stephen king's titles evokes fear. do people ever say to you when

they meet you, i thought i might be scared of you? all the time, right? >> sure, a lot of people think they're go to come scare of me. i'm civilized. >> reporter: the best-selling author built his career on frightening people on the written word. he sees things the way others don't. years before others thought about e-books, king public lehred a novela online, it shocked the industry and got him a lot of attention. >> i got on the cover of "time" magazine, for once in my life, i got noticed in airports by the guys who wear the suits and ties. they would come up to me and say, how did that work? how did that sell? they were fascinated by the business aspect. >> reporter: that was a decade ago. today, the e-book industry is on fire. amazon is selling more e-books than hard covers. making up up 8% of publishing revenue. on track to hit 50% by 2015. some studies show when people

own e-book readers like kindles and ipads, they buy more and read more. the future. does it mean the death of traditional books? the internet in many ways killed the music industry. why want to do that to books? >> well i'm not sure that it won't. the book is not the important part. the book is the delivery system. the important part is the story and the talent. >> reporter: content, pardon the pun, is king. i feel like there's twice as many people working here today than a month ago. >> there are. >> reporter: jane friedman used to run major publishing house harpercollins. today, she's the president of open road media. publishing, you guessed it, e-books. authors like pat conroy who wrote "the prince of tides." >> not be afraid of critics, other writers to write something so bold. >> reporter: hoping to enhance the e-book experience.

>> i actually was very involved with starting the audio book business. and we have people who said why would i ever listen to a book? i like to turn the pages. the e-book is just another format. >> reporter: why king reads both books and e-books. do you go back and read your own books? >> very rarely. very rarely. knew how they come out. books will always exist. will they be what they are now? absolutely, they will not. >> does that make you sad? >> oh, man, does that make me sad? if i say yes, everybody won't understand that. the answer is, the future's going to be what the future's going to be. >> reporter: with one potential drawback. >> if you drop a book in the toilet, you can fish it out and dry it off and read it. if you drop your kindle in the toilet, you're done. >> did you get that --

>> if you dropped your hardback book in the toilet, it would probably be pretty done, too. >> guys one thing i should mention, though. one added benefit of e-books which you don't really think about, is that they're living books, right? one thing that's in development now, you can constantly update and change those e-books basically with the click of a budden. the example that jane friedman brought up that take the bernie madoff scandal, right. a lot of people who wrote books about bernie madoff they did so through traditional publishers. those books aren't out there, some of them, by the time they're out there, 30, 40, 50 stories have superseded that one. >> look. you pull it off a bookshelf. "alice in wonderland" it literally is book. >> do you read books? >> yes. >> your steven king "it," it's

1,138 pages. you can't lug it around. or the "dark tower" series. this changes everything for those who are avid readers. >> he said he's still old school that way. having said that, he reads about 60% or 70% of actual books then the rest he reads online. he says in a year or two, it might be 100% online. >> just don't drop it in the toilet, right? >> right. >> if you dropped it, it wouldn't land, it's too big. >> remember, george constanza assessment to read it and could not return it to the bookstore. >> that's sad. >> something about books and toilets don't go together. >> how did we get into this. >> you started it. in the face of new allegation that he coerced teenage boys to having sex. bishop long is remaining silent.

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rebuild, that's just part of the reason why an organization called the interim haiti recovery commission was formed. and why the prime minister is speaking to the u.n. general assembly. >> if you're living right now in the tent, it's very hard in haiti right now. some of the nights you have heavy winds, so you have your children aren't going to school.

and you have your wife that is ill, i can assure you that you'd be frustrated also. >> you know, i remember seeing the tents when i was there, i think the thought was by this point, some of those tents would not be there. at this point, you still have what, 1.5 million people still living in those camps? >> yeah, they live in those tents for sometime. you're not going to solve the problem, the magnitude of that challenge, in months. we are thinking about years. and we are thinking about lots and a lot of money. >> are you satisfied with the way that the money that has been pledged has been released to your country or not? >> again, the first thing that you have to do is say thanks. that is not enough. we have to work together and what we have done for the international committee, to improve the way the money it getting to haiti. right now, it's not getting to

haiti and seeing in a way so we can have enough visibility for the population to feel that all that could have been done has been done. >> but it's got to be a worry for you? >> well, it's a worry for us. but i have full confidence that every government that make -- made a pledge to haiti is going to respect it. and i have no reason to believe that is going to change. we built with the international committee, a commission that is in fact entering the commission. one of the reasons we are have the commission is to understand what is needed in haiti. in public money, private money. with coordination with that dpru coming from this country. and certainly, we know that they have to find more financing. >> at what point does the

haitian government share responsibility or blame in terms of why the haitian people are still living in these conditions? >> 100% we should be blamed. i'm responsible for the situation. i'm responsible for the government. whatever is happening to the nation, i'm responsible. i'm not going to try to say it's not me, it's the international committee. it's not me, it's the ngo. at the end of the day, i have responsible for the nation. >> a quick number here, so far out of $5 billion pledged only 18% of that has been dispersed. that's just part of the reason why there is still some 1.5 million people still living in those temporary camps. and why much of the rubble has not been cleared and why more rebuilding has not gotten under way. >> it compounds the tragedy, doesn't it? >> also former bill clinton sitting on the commission as well trying to get the money releaseglp they certainly have a lot of work to do. >> they do.

we're following breaking news out of atlanta this morning, bishop eddie long facing new allegations today that he coerced young men into sexual relationships. he has decided that out to respond publicly at this point. he canceled a scheduled radio interview and news conference today. but there is some news this morning. ed lavandera who broke the story is follows developments. and he's joining us live. >> well, it's been an interesting morning already. we went to bed last night essentially being told that bishop eddie long would be holding a press conference. not taking any statements but making a statement. also doing an interview with our colleague cnn's roland martin. all of that is canceled overnight. however, right now, roland martin is interviewing bishop long's attorney on the tom joyner radio show. he started off with a at the same time that he said was

directly written and prepared by bishop eddie long himself. >> i have been through storms and my faith has always sustained me. i am anxious to respond directly to these false allegations, and i will do so. however, my lawyers counsel patience at this time. let me be clear, the charges against me and new birth are false. i have devoted my life to helping others, and these false allegations hurt me deeply. but my faith is strong. and the truth will emerge. all i ask is for your patience, as we continue to categorically deny each and every one of these ugly charges. finally, i have done as i have done for thousands of others over my decades of preaching. i ask for your prayers for me, my family and our church. on sunday, at new birth, i will

respond to my congregation. >> and that was attorney craig dylan here in atlanta speaking with roland martin, reading that statement as you heard him there. the bishop does plan to address the congregation of new birth church on sunday. you can imagine, many people listening to that. there was an interesting theme emerging from what the attorney was saying. basically he said that these lawsuits, three lawsuit, three young men from his church, accusing the bishop of coercion. basically says these lawsuits are not only an attack on bishop long himself but an attack on the entire congregation of new birth baptist church. that theme of attack and attacks on this bishop is definitely something that this attorney was repeating several times during the early pat of the interview. >> just to clarify, you say he's going to address the congregation on sunday, we don't

expect to hear anything between now and then? >> that's right. we expected to at least see him on camera today. a public statement, that's what we're told, in preparing for it. directly from his spokesperson, all of that changed in the last five or six hours. until then, sunday, three more days away before we hear in them. that was one of the points that roland was making through the course of the interview, why is it taking so long for him to respond to the allegations. the attorney is the one that says he is the one to be blamed. it's his decision that told the bishop to remain quiet until sunday. >> let's see if he can remain silent that long with the allegations mounting. ed lavandera, thanks so much. it's time to get the latest news from the best political team on television, crossing the political ticker, there's an investigation after a gay slur posted online is reportedly linked to a republican senator's office. our senior political editor mark preston is live at the cnnpolitics.com desk for us.

hey, mark. >> good morning. georgia senator saxby is having to deal with this embarrassing situation. apparently an anti-gay comment originated from one of his offices. his office was investigating. in fact, the senate sergeant at arms is looking into the matter as well. the atlanta general constitution is reporting this morning that in fact it did originate in his office. senate officials are now taking up the matter in a statement to cnn yesterday, a spokeswoman for the senator said that the office has and will not tolerate any activity of the sort alleged. so a very embarrassing situation right now for senator chambliss. let's talk politics here as we continue to tick through the new state polls conducted by cnn and the opinion research corporation. i'm going to focus in on the state of pennsylvania. right now, in that senate race,

it shows that former representative, pat toomey, a republican, leads the democratic nominee, joe sestak by five points. pat toomey, 49, joe sestak, 44. that is for senator arlen specter's seat. specter was the republican turned democrat, but yet joe sestak was able to defeat specter. let's close it with this. kiran, john, you might want to get a bar of soap for this. the ohio democratic party chairman was caught on video using the four-letter word. i'll let our viewers figure out what the four-letter word was. it was in this empassioned political speech he was giving to steelworkers in ohio. he's not apologizing for it. he said it's a word that everyone has used as well. he said he was just speaking passionately about the issue. so as we're heading into the november elections, we'll certainly see the tensions and

the excitement maybe get the best of some people. john, kiran? >> that's right. it was an interesting response. usually people apologize and said, i didn't have any idea i was on camera. he said, hey, you guys use it, too. mark preston, thanks so much. for the latest political news go to our website, cnnpolitics.com. quick break. we'll be right back. eliot spitzer joins us in a moment.

well, another tea party candidate surging in a surprising way this morning. a new poll out of new york shows carl palladino just six points

behind new york attorney general andrew cuomo. and that puts him within the margin of error. >> this is interesting because it's somebody who has not held political office before. he's a billionaire businessman -- sorry, millionaire businessman. known for makes controversial statements. he's from buffalo. he said he'll spend up to $10 million up his own money on his race. he's campaigned under the slogan "mad as hell." we want to bring in cnn's eliot spitzer right now. he of course knows the politics of new york as well as as anyone. the former governor is now here on cnn. he's hosting a new show here. >> good to be here. >> mired with controversy and racist e-mail, he's within the margin of error. >> here's the thing. it is a shock to folks who don't really understand that new york state is three different states.

new york state is not just new york city. here's the number to focus on. new york city will only be about 28% of the total vote, come november. about 48% will come from upstate and the remainder, what we call the suburban ring which is the counties around new york city. so if a fellow like carl palladino who has the tea party anger behind him is carrying with him a significant margin of victory upstate. that can overcome new york city. that is why you put it all together, the suburban ring will be the determination of the voters. >> carl palladino has been running a grassroots, down in the mud, "i'm mad as hell" campaign. that's going to resonate in tough times. >> you look at the folks who get out, the raw emotion.

andrew cuomo has been running a rose garden campaign without speak to get voters what he will do. look. back a couple years ago, i ran a gubernatorial campaign when i was attorney general. i won by a very significant margin but there was not at that moment the sort of anger welling up in the public. andrew has got to get out there and explain what he will do. carl palladino, crazy as he may appear to be, portrayed by the media as being rough around the edge, that's what the public may want right now. >> and he's baiting them as well saying he didn't have the key hon cajons. >> when you degrade government, you degrade the people of this state. i'm not going to do it. >> does cuomo need to take off the gloves here?

>> well the problem that andrew has, behind the scenes, everybody knows he's the dirtiest out there. he has brass knuckles and plays hard balls. he has a lot of enemies out there. nobody is willing to stand up to him. if it appears to be not inevitable, things will change, he has a lot of folks he's been on the wrong side of, who say, wait a minute, he may not want to pretend he plays that game. >> also, albany has become the face of disarray and disruption, right, in terms of the state government? >> albany is like every other capital. i think here because we are -- we like to think -- >> come on, albany's worse. >> it is, but it isn't worse as much as you would think. look at sacramento in california, sacramento in california, governor schwarzenegger, a great political leader has had as much gridlock, the same inability to deal in a meaningful way with

budget crises and they're letting prisoners out. and then luke at trenton, governor corzine, a very effective governor, got voted out. every state, i wrote some articles some slate.com about a year ago saying being governor is the hardest job in america because there simply isn't the revenue to cover the services the public expects. unlike the federal government, governors don't print money. on top of that you underlay the status quo mentality. >> you talk about there being two new york states, new york city and upstate new york. democrats outweigh republicans 2 to 1. when you look at who is leaning among independents palladino has got combhuomo by six points. >> that's right, the suburban ring and voters in new york will

determine this. andrew carries a 3 to 1 in new york city, 28% of the vote that gives him a buffer in the suburban ring and upstate. but it's going to be closer than people think. >> when you ran, you won. is carl paladino, you can vision him being governor? >> no. >> was this the right pick for the republicans? >> no here's the other secret here. the republicans had a candidate who would have won. a fellow steve leavy who was in suffolk county. the leadership of that party said, no, they went with rick lazio. he was almost a vanilla candidate, had nothing to say. had steve leavy been put on the ballot, he would have been ahead of cuomo. carl pallino is a businessman from upstate, he won't win. >> what do you want to bet palladino wins in new york? >> one cnn mug.

>> a cnn mug. >> from your set. >> palladino in new york or o'donnell in delaware? >> i'm not going to go there. well remember, of course, "parker spitzer" is coming to cnn's new lineup. the new show, monday, october 4th, 8 eastern. so i can just drop off my car and you'll take care of everything? yep, even the rental. what if i'm stuck at the office? if you can't come to us, we'll come to you in one of our immediate response vehicles! what if mother won't let me drive? then you probably wouldn't have had an accident in the first place. and we're walkin'! and we're walkin'... making it all a bit easier -- now that's progressive! call or click today.

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welcome back to the most news in the morning. i'm rob marciano. national hurricane center just upped this blob of cloudiness to an 80% of it becoming a tropical depression or storm in the next 48 hours and may fly into that thing today and check it out. it is already in the caribbean. opposed to everything that's been out in the atlantic and flow of the wind field right now, the steering currents are going to bring it in this general direction and potentially into the gulf of mexico next week and of grave concern for potential u.s. impacts. we had impacts in the northeast yesterday with heavy winds and rain and thunder and lightning in the northeast with a front sliding down to the south after the heat in the day. a number of wind reports and some damage in some areas, especially eastern parts of pennsylvania. most of the action around the area of high pressure. where you don't see the rain that's where the hot air is and record highs again today. temperatures well into the 90s yesterday and also seeing a little bit of flooding i think across parts of minneapolis.

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55 minutes past the hour.

time for your "am house call." there's an experimental heart valve procedure giving new hope to tens of thousands of patients too sick to survive a traditional open heart surgery. >> dr. sanjay gupta in new york with us this morning. good morning to you. >> good to be here. people are -- we're talking about aortic stinosis. people, look at what happens. the good is just sort of backing up into the heart. the heart has to work harder and harder and people start to get fatigued, chest pain. that's a real problem. the bigger problem is certain percentage of people, 30% they can't undergo surgery. many patients die within a year and exciting about this new procedure which is tested for sometime. forget the operation. actually, do the entire procedure through a little catheter in the groin.

you can take a look at this just really quickly here. no operation but just a threading a little catheter up into the valve and sort of expanding it, letting blood out of the heart. that's what they have been trying to do for sometime and needed surgery to do that in the past and the procedure goes in there. see it expand, all with the patient awake. an opening in the groin. a catheter threaded up and open up the valve. >> they leave that in there? >> that stays in there. to do a valve like this has been really hard so this is the first evidence that it works. >> did they actually open up the valve and leave the valve open? >> that's right. the valve -- you have a new valve. it will close and open. >> replace the old valve? >> the valve is moved out of the way and new valve opens and closes. you let blood out an then prevents it from coming back in.

>> catheter brought in the new valve. >> that's amazing. we talk about the procedure because it is so difficult when people are older and you know that they need that type of help. you know they need more blood flow and open heart surgery is just so taxing on the body. >> so that's the unbelievable position they're in because they -- about 30% of these people with this problem, they will die within a year if they don't have the procedure. and so, it's almost like a death sentence for so many people who have this. that's surprising i think to a lot of people but this with, half of the people dying within a year and still high and a third and significant problem but not having surgery and having better results so i think that's what got people excited and even people who aren't too sick could have a less invasive option so you don't have to have open heart surgery for things you need. >> less invase it option as good? >> it seems to be in terms of

symptoms and survival. not as fatigued, not as much chest pain. overall energy seems to be better. seems to be better than the surgery. >> good deal. you're coming back next hour and interested to find out more after this former president clinton reversing heart disease and i know you have been pushing for that, too. >> absolutely. >> gong to get your take on that. >> thanks. >> top stories if two minutes. stay with us. [ female announcer ] what if your natural beauty could be flawless, too? new aveeno positively radiant tinted moisturizers, with scientifically proven soy complex and natural minerals give you sheer coverage instantly,

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as swelling in the hands, feet or ankles may worsen. blood tests will check for kidney problems. you may need a lower dose of onglyza if your kidneys are not working well or if you take certain medicines. [ male announcer ] ask your doctor about adding onglyza. extra help. extra control. you may be eligible to pay $10 a month with the onglyza value card program. good morning. thanks so much for joining us on the most news in the morning. it is thursday, 23rd of september. i'm john roberts. >> i'm kiran chetry and the official start of fall and 0 degre90 degrees. >> feels like fall. >> georgia mega church eddie long is facing allegations of coercing teenage boys into sex and decided not to address the scandal publicly.

he says that the advice of his attorneys. bishop long canceled a planned radio interview and news conference today. ed lavandera has new developments this morning. the gop unveiling the pledge to america today telling voters what they would do if they win control of congress in november. we have a copy of it. we are analyzing it. democrats are calling it a pledge to special interests. we'll talk with one of its authors and show you some of the sweeping changes that the gop is proposing. how important are the nine months before you're born? a body of new research says there's a lot more to think about for moms to be from nutrition and an environment to even your mental state. there's some important information for couples considering having kids, ahead. >> yeah. this is really fascinating stuff and the am fix blog up and running. join the live conversation at cnn.com/amfix. now to the growing scandals surrounding bishop eddie long. three men now accusing him of

luring them into sexual relationships when they were teenagers. >> the mega church pastor has yet to address the allegations publicly. we thought that would happen today but long suddenly decided against it. our ed lavandera is following new developments and live in atlanta for us this morning. what do we know today, ed? >> reporter: bishop eddie long's attorney said it was his call to pull the bishop away from the interviews. he was scheduled for a radio interrue this morning. that did not happen but the attorney did go on and says he read a statement that was written directly by bishop eddie long. >> i have been through storms and my faith has always sustained me. i'm anxious to respond directly to these false allegations and i will do so. however, my lawyers counsel patience at this time. let me be clear. the charges against me and new

birth are false. i have devoted my life to helping others. and these false allegations hurt me deeply. but my faith is strong and the truth will emerge. all i ask is for your patience as we continue to categorically deny each and every one of these ugly charges. finally, i have done as -- as i have done for thousands of others over my decades of preaching, i ask for your prayers for me, my family and our church. on sunday, at new birth, i will respond to my congregation. >> reporter: the interview lasted longer after that. roland asked him about directly about the trips, lavish trips around the world that these lawsuits say that bishop long taken the three young men now in the early 20s. the attorney didn't deny those trips had occurred. he said that this wasn't out of

the ordinary. that part of his mentoring process to many young people was to take them around the world. show them life experiences and that sort of thing. beyond that, there wasn't much more in the way of specifics. especially specific allegations in the lawsuits but one interesting theme emerged in the line of geing with roland this morning and essentially the attorney saying that thesal gags, these lawsuits are not only attack on bishop long but attack on the 25,000 members of the new birth missionary baptist church. that theme was repeated over and over. >> did the attorney say anything of why bishop long e-mailing pictures of himself in a bathroom wearing a muscle t-shirt? >>. >> reporter: no. we didn't get answers that would explain that at this point. and so beyond those trips kind of talking about that, it was very little in the way of specifics. >> all right. ed lavandera this morning, thanks. new this morning, rahm e moon july may step done as president obama's chief of staff

as soon as next month, that's according to sources close to him. he's been mentioned as a likely candidate for the mayor of chicago. if he does leave, a name floated as a replacement, chief of staff pete rous. in a couple of hours president obama takes to the world stage. he'll be addressing the u.n. general assembly and urging member nations to support israel and the palestinians in the peace process or risk more bloodshed in the middle east. iran's president mahmoud ahmadinejad will address the general assembly later on this afternoon. last night, on "larry king live," ahmadinejad lashed out aziz really prime minister benjamin netanyahu. >> larry: prime minister netanyahu was a guest recently on our program and he said, quote, the greatest threat facing humanity, humanity, that's the world, is that iran would acquire nuclear weapons. if israel feels that strongly, and you don't directly assure them, don't you fear that they

might do a first strike? >> translator: so you think that we are concerned -- we should be concerned about allaying mr. netanya netanyahu's concerns and fears? >> larry: yeah. >> translator: why should we be doing that for him. who is he? >> larry: he is the head of a country. >> translator: who is he in the first place to begin with? he is a skilled killer. all dictators in the world have condemned others. and he's one of many of them. he should be put on trial for killing palestinians, for placing gaza under siege which is against the law and against the spirit of the charter of the united nations. he should be put on trial for killing women and children.

>> ahmadinejad also deflected questions about iran's nuclear program, telling larry we are not seeking the bomb. all right. we know very little about this but we want to get it out there. we have learned that a delta flight from jfk to greece actually had to make an emergency landing in manchester, england, just landed moments ago. all we know at this point is reports of smoke in the cabin. forcing this emergency landing. we're, of course, working our resources. cnn bureau in london to get more information and find out what may have gone on with this plane, delta plane that was bound for greece from jfk. ended up making an emergency landing in manchester. >> all right. rob marciano is checking the forecast across the country in the extreme weather center for us this morning. and what are we looking at today, ro b?

>> i don't think you see the thunderstorms of yesterday. today, it is just hot and especially down to the south and east. where you will see most of the rain will be across the midwest, around the bubble of hot air baking st. louis, atlanta and dallas. some of the moisture is tropical and from arizona up through minnesota, not only seeing the threat for severe weather but the threat of flooding from all of that rain. it is a pretty wet summer for folks who live in the heartland and the corn belt, especially. been very warm summer for much of the eastern third but problem is today's the first full day of fall. feels like july or august. 92 in st. louis. 92 in atlanta. 92 degrees in d.c. and i believe this is the hottest summer on record. in d.c. we are starting off fall the same way we ended summer for them. enjoy, guys. back up to you. >> thanks so much. we are following more about the emergency landing of a delta airline plane from new york's

jfk headed to athens, greece. forced to make an emergency landing in the uk because of reports of a smell of smoke in the cabin. more on that and also the new republican agenda. a closer look at the gop's pledge to america. congressman paul ryan contributed to the plan that they're unveiling today. he's going to join us live to explain it coming up. [ tires screech ] [ engine revving ] [ drums playing ] [ male announcer ] 306 horsepower. race-inspired paddle shifters and f sport-tuned suspension. all available on the new 2011 lexus is. it isn't real performance, unless it's wielded with precision. see your lexus dealer.

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welcome back to the most news in the morning. is 1 minutes past the hour right now. laying out the blueprint. today republican leaders will tell voters how they would govern if they take back congress in november. it's the 1 pages and called "the pledge to america." here's a bit from the introduction. it says, goat, in a self-governing society the only bulwark against the power of the state is the consent of the governed and regarding the policies of the current government the governed do not consent. well, congressman paul ryan contributed to this plan. he's on capitol hill and joins us this morning. thank you for being with us. >> you bet, kiran. >> you have broken this down into five parts, jobs, which, obviously very important to many. spending government reform abe national security. what are the priorities if the gop takes control of the houts after the midterms? what would be first on the plate for you? >> first of all, this is a governing agenda to put in place right now we're suggesting but

job creation. do what you need to do to remove the uncertainty of government on the economy to get jobs growing. control and cut spending and clean up the way congress works. people vote for 1,000-page bills they haven't read. we have to clean this up. we have to restore trust and accountability and saying we are not trying to reinvent the country but reclaim it reapplying the timeless founding principles that made us such an exceptional country in the first place. >> you offer outlines here. is there specific legislation drafted to go with? are there bills? >> sure. we are not trying to put a new party platform or a big long-term agenda or contract with a list of bills but behind the policies, yes, indeed, there is legislation to enact it. for instance, the spending cuts. we have legislation out to total $1.3 trillion in spending cuts to enact right now if, for instance, we got control of congress so, yes, behind all of

these policy initiatives are legislation that we think are the first steps we need to take to get the country back on the right path. >> for a few years you have actually personally pushed the idea of at least a partial privatization of social security. but that didn't make it into this pledge. why not? >> well, again, this is an exhaustive pledge. these are the first steps to get the country back on track. i would argue i'm not proposing to privatize social security. a plan i wrote is consensus of one person, me, a 55 and above, we'll protect the benefits today but for you and i below 54 an don't have social security coming to us because it's bankrupt, give us an opportunity of having a plan like i have as a congressman and every federal worker or the government, social security, invests a portion of the payroll taxes and account of name to grow the money better and have a better retirement benefit that's safe and secure. not privatized but the power of compound interest to have a better benefit. it is a voluntary choice and

option i have proposed but this is not an exhaustive list. this is basically the key first steps we need to take to get this country back on track. >> i understand that but one of the big, big problems for us all and facing these massive, massive debts and deficits in the future that because of the entitlement programs. there wasn't a lot specifically addressing entitlement programs in this. why? >> there's a discussion on a need to fix the entitlement problem and the other thing to recognize in this document is we -- if we get the majority, we are coming into what we call a divided government situation and we don't want to put something out there making the promises that we know we can't keep because president obama is the president. so we have to recognize that we're going into if we get the majority an era of divided government and so we want to talk about deliverables and aspirations and then key first steps we need to take to get the country back on track and talking about cutting and controlling spending, preventing big tax increases to cost us

jobs and slow down the economy and cleaning up the mess that's become the way congress operates these days. >> with the deficit, it seems that the numbers don't add up and not -- >> they're amazing. >> $100 billion savings by rolling back some government spending. you specifically i think talked about the department of transportation, perhaps the epa and extending the bush tax cuts for everybody so how do you do that with no new revenue coming in and not a lot of cutting. >> best thing to do to improve the budget situation is to grow the economy and create jobs and cut and control spending. that's why that's the cornerstone of this pledge to america. raising taxes as is being proposed this january on successful small businesses, raising tax rates on half of all small business income will slow down our economy, cost us about 1.2 million jobs and actually worsen our budget outlook. so the idea here is not to raise taxes because that slows down

the economy and creates job loss. the idea is get the economy growing and control spending. those are the best two combinations for the fiscal situation improved. we are in such a huge deficit and debt hole. yes, kiran, obviously, we have to deal with entitlements. that's something to come to consensus with around here and move forward but with the divided government situation, these are what we think are the immediate first steps to get the country on the right path. >> we want to thank you for joining us and presenting your point of view and link it up with your website to read 21 pages and judge for themselves. >> great. >> congressman paul ryan out of wisconsin, thanks so much for joining us. >> thanks, kiran. more and more bookworms going for convenience we electronic readers. will e-books kill the paperback? and speaking of rich people, who is the richest person in america? the "forbes" list is out and

there's interesting moves in the rankings to tell you about. we have that straight ahead. 18 minutes now after the hour. i want to give my 5 employees health insurance, but i just can't afford it. i have diabetes. i didn't miss a premium payment for 10 years. and i'm worried if i lose my job, i won't be able to afford insurance.

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20 minutes after the hour.

an update for you on the breaking news this morning that a delta plane from jfk to greece had to make an emergency landing in manchester, england, today after pilots detected a smoky smell in the cabin. the plane landed safely. apparently everything is just fine with the flight. nothing to worry about. folks on board are going to cool their heels for a day, though, in manchester. enjoy the lovely food there and head back to athens on -- tomorrow. >> much like a cruise, have a day excursion and then head on. >> there's no better place to have it than manchester for you in the audience you know what i'm talking about. time for minding your money this morning. bill gates still the richest man in the united states. he is worth cha-ching $54 billion. coming in behind him, the oracle of omaha, warren buffett worth

$45 billion and facebook founder mark zuckerburg now richer than last year, passed steve jobs to take spot number 35 on the list. he's what? 26. shoot me now, please. >> had a good idea. people wanted to reconnect with their high school classmates. >> you refer have a good idea like that? that's an amazing idea. >> well, cnn is confirming that facebook founder mark zuckerburg will donate $100 million of his vast wealth to newark, new jersey,'s public school systems. zuckerburg, new jersey governor and mayor will make the announcement on oprah tomorrow and money for upgrading the newark schools. only half of the city's students graduate high school. well, the times they sure are a-changing. in three years, the kindle is the most popular e-book reader in the nation and amazon.com selling more e-books than hardcovers. >> and ipad.

many people believe that the next generation with video could leave the printed word in the dust. alino cho sat down with one of the most famous authors in the world to talk about the craze. >> stephen king has a lot to say about it. he knows a thing about death and dying. more than 40 books to his name. one of the best selling authors of all time and considered by some to be a father of e-books, one of the first to publish a story online. so what does he think about e-books? could it be the end of the paper books? king says the answer is yes and yes. "the shining." "misery." the mere mention of stephen king's titles evokes fear. do people ever say to you when they meet you, you know, i thought maybe i might be scared of you? all the time, right? >> sure. a lot of people think they're scared of me but i'm civilized. >> right here please. >> reporter: the best selling

author built a career on frightening people. he sees things in ways others don't. so years before most authors even thought about e-books, king published a novello online. it shocked the industry. and got him a lot of attention. >> i got on the cover of "time" magazine and for once in my life noticed by the guys in the suits and ties. they would say, how did that work? how did that sell? they were fascinated by the business aspect. >> reporter: that was a decade ago. today, the e-book industry is on fire. amazon telling more e-books than hardcovers making up more than 8% of publishing revenue, up from 3% a year ago. on track to hit 50% by 2015. some studies show when people own e-book readers like kindles and ipads they buy more and read more. the future. but does it mean the death of traditional books? the internet in many ways killed the music industry.

so why don't it do that to books? >> well, i'm not sure that it won't. the book is not the important part. the book is the delivery system. the important part is the story and the talent. >> reporter: content, pardon the pun, is king. lirg like twice as many people working here than a month ago. >> there are. >> reporter: jane freedman won harper collins. today she is the ceo of open road integrated media, a company that publishes, you guessed it, e-books. open road is also among those adding video to e-books by authors like pat conroy who wrote "the prince of tides." >> do not be afraid of critics, other writers. to write something so bold. >> reporter: hoping to enhance the e-book experience. >> i actually was very involved in starting the audiobook business and people said why

would i listen to a book? i like to turn the pages. the e-book is just another format. >> reporter: why king reads both books and e-books. do you go back and read your own books? >> very rarely. i know how they come out. books will always exist. will they be what they are now? absolutely they will not. >> reporter: does that make you sad? >> oh, man. does that make me sad? if i say yes, everybody will understand that. the future is going to be what the future is going to be. >> reporter: with one potential drawback. >> if you drop a book in the toilet, you can fish it out and dry it off. if you drop your kindle in the toilet, you're done. >> john roberts loves that. if you think e-books are just a fad, think again. how about library with no books at all? it is happening at the university of texas at san antonio. there are no actual books in that library. its entire collection of 425,000

volumes and 18,000 journal articles only available online. it is certainly the way of the future. >> amazing when you think about, i mean, i remember back to college. do you remember having to carry -- >> i can't remember back that far. >> we'd have to purchase a ton of money. i needed a second job for the jobs that were required. right? e-books, just literally -- >> one college in new york, which one? the name escapes me but at least one in new york right now encouraging all of its students to buy ipads so that they can read their material online. >> carry this instead of that enormous pack back filled with the huge books. >> there are those old school people who say, i love just the feel of the book. i love to smell the binding. i love to turn the page. i like to know how much i've read. right? you know? >> that is a totally valid point. and for enjoyable, you know, reading that you just do curled up on the couch, fine. if you're a college student and

trying to get the last book that's out of the library. >> getting the pink kindle? >> it is interesting. he has the only pink kindle in the world. why? because jeff bezos who runs amazon when the kindling was coming out and he wrote a story about someone with a pink kindle. voila, one an i peered at his office. >> so that's the only one. you won't be able to get one. >> sorry, guys. >> as fashionable as they might be. thanks so much. president obama in trouble? real estate mogul donald trump says things are not looking good for the president. in fact, he says they're looking bad. his thoughts on president obama coming up into his second -- third year. yeah. coming into the midterm elections, as well. 28 minutes after the hour. i wouo for a do-over. [ female announcer ] neutrogena® clinical skincare, exclusive ion2 complex combined with activating cream helps restore collagen depleted skin. neutrogena clinical skincare is clinically tested

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crossing the half hour now. time for a look at the top stories. first comment of bishop long will come on sunday. three men accusing him of luring them into sex when they were teenagers. bishop long canceled interviews set for today. his attorney addressed the civil lawsuits. >> these false allegations are an attack on bishop long personally. they are an attack on new birth, all of its 25,000 good people who attend that church. and it's an attack on the men toring program that's helped thousands of young men. it is deeply, deeply unfortunate that these allegations have been

made. they will be met. >> well, the attorney read that statement from bishop long saying that hedy nighs the quote ugly charges and anxious to respond on sunday. republican party unveiling the pledge to america today. it outlines republican positions calling for smalling government, rolling back the economic stimulus plan and repealing the health care reform law. democrats are calling it a pledge to special interests. lawmakers on capitol hill investigating the recental smo knell la outbreak that led to a massive regular recall. the owner of the farm at the center of the outbreak said he is horrified that eggs from his company might have gotten people sick. >> apologize to everyone who may have been sickened by eating our eggs. i have prayed several times each day for all of these people. for improved health. >> well, the owner of another farm involved refused to answer

questions about conditions at his operation. 33 minutes after the hour. time now for the latest news from the best political team on television and crossing our political ticker this morning, steven colbert is about to head to washington. not to rally. but to testify. >> yeah. senior political editor mark preston live at the cnnpolitics.com desk. is he going in character? he has to be sworn in. he has to go as steven. >> yeah. no question. look. steven colbert, of course, you know, you talk about rallying and here on october 30th, march to keep fear alive and doing it with jon stewart. rally to restore sanity. tomorrow, steven colbert comes and testifies before a subcommittee on the issue of immigration. he's worked for a day as an immigrant farm worker up in new york. i suspect that steven colbert will probably not be in character as you say because

fact is you have to be sworn in but i'll go on a limb and suggest colbert probably will be siding with the idea that it's okay to have these migrant farm workers come across the border and work on our farms because what the farm working community is tells us is that americans don't want these jobs so steven colbert did something on the show last night. we'll see something tonight on that. will be here in washington tomorrow. let's move to delaware. this is the hottest senate race in the last week or so. we have new poll numbers of cnn and opinion research corporation poll for this very, very interesting senate race showing that christine o'donnell, tea party favorite down 16 points to the democratic nominee chris coons. but let me just show you what would happen if o'donnell lost this race to the establishment favorite mike castle. castle, losing to o'donnell last week. our poll shows he would be up 18

points and republican establishment fig which you ares here in d.c. saying we told you so but, of course, plenty of time for christine o'donnell to make up this time. let's close it with what john said at the top. the fact is donald trump is speaking out about president obama's presidency saying he's not sure if the president can recover from the economic situation that we're in right now. he says that he looks at president obama as a president who is in trouble. right now, trump says there's a level of an mos if i and hatred never seen before and told wolf blitzer this yesterday. we have the video on cnnpolitics.com. i should point out that donald trump endorsed john mccain in the 2008 presidential election. john, kiran? >> all right. you know, talking with ed rollins and susan molinari yesterday. they're both republicans, of course, but they think that o'donnell may pull out a win in delaware. >> comes down to how much money she can get in over the next

couple of weeks and energize the delaware voters. >> getting money in. thanks so much. reminder for the latest political news go to cnnpolitics.com. all right. so you know as a pregnant woman, always worried, doing the right thing by your child. >> i worry about that every day. >> what do you sneet dads worry about what the moms are doing, too. it is not just what you're eating, the vitamins to affect the outcome of your child, not only physical health but mental health, as we. fascinating foray of what really happens in the womb. coming up. we'll be joined by journalist annie murphy-paul when we come back right. purchase. start earning with as little as $75 spent, including great sale prices. hurry, sears bonus days are on! sears.

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welcome back to the most news in the morning. i'm rob marciano. tropical storm lisa barely holding on here. as a matter of fact, tropical depression at one point and we don't think much of lisa and this red box indicates that the national hurricane center giving it a high probability of becoming a tropical storm in the next couple of days and heading towards the northwestern caribbean and may get into the gulf of mexico by next week. and one way, shape or form and

has us, of course, worried. eyes peeled for that. first full day of fall, yesterday last day of summer. it was 99 degrees in louisville. memphis, 96. 92 in georgetown. i think similar numbers today. everywhere you don't see rain, thunderstorms in the new york area, but that front will lift further to the north today and getting into heat tomorrow and everywhere you don't see rain, this is hot. tropical moisture. raining and raining heavily in some spots. we are you should flash flood watches and warnings for today with more thunderstorms and heavy rain possible. some of the moisture training in from georgette and also created flooding conditions yesterday across parts of arizona and new mexico. look at the highs today. 91 in washington, d.c. it's the first full day of fall. feels more like july. up to date weather wise.

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not making -- not eating too much fish because of mercury concerns. it's enough to stress you out. >> it is. well, new research warns that stress levels, pollution an infections can also affect your baby, not just in the womb but as a child growing up. and all the way into adulthood. annie murphy-paul quote an article in "time" and has a new book "origins" coming out tuesday. we heard don't drink, don't smoke. take follic acid. eat well while you're pregnant. this goes well beyond all of that. >> that's right. there's an emerging science known as fetal origins that suggests that a lot of the things that women experience in pregnancy affects fetus in that way that lasts throughout the childhood and into adulthood. >> breaking down the things we are talking about here, one of the concerns and one of the things they have actually

amended over the years is how much weight you gain during pregnancy and this is, of course, a source on both sides of the issue. people worry so much about gaining too much weight and then others saying it's a chance to eat for two and if i balloon up 70, 100 pounds, it is okay. what are they learning about what obesity or even just a significant weight gain does? >> well, as we all know, americans are getting heavier and heavier and weight gain starting earlier and earlier and new thinking is predisposition to obesity begins in the womb with an overweight pregnant woman or a woman that gains excessively in the pregnancy programming to make them in turn more likely to become obese so we're rethinking the guidelines on how much pregnant women should gain. >> it can also lead to diabetes, things like that, as well. what about stress? you wouldn't think of stress as being something that could affect your baby's development.

you think it affects your mother and a couple of types of stress. one can have a dill tear you affect or a beneficial effect. what about extreme levels of stress of the mother particularly in the first trimester. >> yes. extreme stress can have very damaging affects to the fetus. in the article i write about a disastrous modernization campaign of china known as the great leap forward. and this led to an enormous famine that affected many women who were gestating children at the time and those children grew up to have twice the rate of schizophrenia. >> really? >> as young adults and talking 20 years after they experienced that malnutrition. >> found it mirrored in women pregnant in the six-day in israel, as well. famine, war. what about every day things, stressing about your job,

fighting more, feeling moodier, more hormonal? >> good news is that scientists have found that moderate levels of stress, every day levels of stress actually have a beneficial affect for the fee which you say, axccelerating th development of nervous system and higher developmental scores later after the babies are born. it's as if when you're taking a test you have a little bit of stress and that helps you perform better. it is the same kind of thing. >> a little bit is a good thing. >> that's right. >> you found through your research that fing th ing this is a mother eats and the way she takes care of fetus can have a long-lasting ability on the baby and through childhood and adulthood to resist diseases like kanse like cancer? >> that's right. much of the research is done on animals but there is a really striking study in which pregnant mice were given a chemical that was derived from vegetables like

broccoli and brussel sprouts and their offspring were able to resist cancer for the rest of their lives even when exposed to a cancer-causing chemical and only encountered this protective chemical in the womb. >> do we know how it works? >> there's compounds within these vegetables that have cancer-fighting properties so that kind of supplement isn't available for pregnant women now but can never hurt to eat your broccoli. >> we both have children about the same age. you know how terrified you were that you were doing the right thing and not breathing in the wrong things. i mean, how do, you know, balance this and look at it without being so fearful of everything in your mouth or everything you encounter while your baby's growing inside of you? >> yes, yes. that's very much how i felt the first time i was pregnant and made me want to write the book to understand and put into perspective and context this

science we get in dribs and drabs from the radio or newspaper headlines so in the second time that i was pregnant, and i was pregnant while i was researching and writing this book, i actually came away with a much more positive and proactive view of pregnancy as a molding and shaping of the fetus and the scientists that i talked to were not full of dire warnings. they were full of excitement about this as a new frontier of promoting children's well being and health while they're still in the womb. >> opposed to something else to worry about, maybe i can make a difference here. >> exactly. >> the article is fascinating and looking forward to the book next week. >> thanks very much. >> thank you for being here. >> thanks. >> all right. a quick break. we'll be right back. t demandingk in the world. with us, in spirit, was every great car that we'd ever competed with. the bmw m5. and the mercedes-benz e63. for it was their amazing abilities

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today on house call now, the emotional, incredible story of a little girl fighting for her life against a disease with no name. >> imagine how terrifying for her family and a team of doctors. doctor detectives, really. working to try to diagnose the

unknown condition. dr. sanjay jgupta is working on this for months. you don't know what you're dealing with. >> that's right. it happens more than people realize. we have an expectation, you go to the hospital. you get an answer. you get a diagnosis but a lot of cases it is not true. and people are told over and over again we don't know. there's nothing we can do about it. but there is a place that exists, it's called the undiagnosed diseases program where this is what they do. when no one else has a program, this team is called the try to figure it out and kylie, a 6-year-old, was eventually accepted into this program. take a look. kylie was sick and getting sicker. her parents had spent nearly two years with specialists. >> perfect. >> reporter: no one could diagnose was what wassing to her. her voice tremor. the twitches convulsing the right side of the body. >> bad parent.

like, why can't i help my kid? so -- >> can't really put it into words. just helpless. >> reporter: kylie had once been a perfectly healthy toddler. until it was as if an invisible force was at war with her body. her parents videotaped the discent. >> turn your head towards us. good girl. look at mama. >> reporter: not a single doctor knew what was happening to kylie. they made their way from reno, nevada, to maryland and the nih in hopes of fining out what in the world could be wrong with kylie. kylie's tests begin in early morning. >> beautiful. >> can i tell you something? you are all done. good job. >> reporter: and go late into the night. >> baby boy. >> okay. kitty cat.

say kitty cat. >> it's hard. >> silly sue. >> it is really hard. hopefully it's for a good cause. >> yeah. this will help it not hurt. >> reporter: by friday, the tests are complete. the doctors and the plan teaming what to tell kylie's parents. waiting in another room, kylie's mom and dad are anxious, hopeful. >> they might have some things back from that so it's exciting and i'm nervous. >> so we want to document that for -- >> reporter: but the doctors have no diagnose no ses. >> all sorts of things for us to consider. >> reporter: they explain how the results will guide their investigation. >> and we continue to work together on this. >> reporter: kylie's mom and dad, gina and steven, the emotional toll of the week is just so overwhelming. >> we don't consider this to be a final diagnosis. >> the parents are really having sort of a tough time and this is

quite typical of this program. >> so it's just i think too much for me at that exact moment. so -- >> scared me because i didn't want it to be the end. >> reporter: for several months, the udp team will chase every clue hoping it leads them to a prime suspect. what is killing kylie? and how to stop it. >> maybe some day we'll get that phone call, hey, we think we might know what it is. >> wow. the poor little girl and the parents, too. worrying about it. what a tough week for her. do they come up with a diagnosis? do they find out what's killing her as you said? >> it is still in progress right now and sometimes going back and looking at the dn after of siblings, the parents. trying to figure out a genetic clue and that's really where this is headed. talking to the doctors, as much as it is about treating patients, the reason they bring the patients in is because they

believe they can advance science unraveling the individual mysteries so through kylie they think there will be a big advancement of mapping the diagnosis. is it a variant of huttington? that's not described in kids. it's hard. they want add diagnosis and now. and now they leave without it. i think that was just a heartbreaking moment. >> right. they say that the investigation's going to continue. that's what the doctors are saying but meantime do they come closer with an ability to ease or relieve the symptoms? must be horrible to have the twitching and convulsing. >> they've bin able to help significantly with that. treating symptoms is something they're much better at than figuring out what's causing it and the interesting thing of doctors is we're trained to look for the obvious things. that's what we do in medicine. we look right in the middle of the bell curve to see does it fit here? what they're always doing is looking at the edges. when's in this less than 10%,

greater than 90% percentile problem and different approach of problems but getting answers completely nonintuitive. >> just like dr. house. >> not as grumpy. >> i want your thoughts really quickly on what former president clinton said, plant-based diet and healing the heart disease. >> everyone has said that that's impossible. once you have arterial sclerosis, the process is not reversible. dean hornish that we talked about for sometime said for a plant-based diet changes the expression of some of your genes and you actually start to see a shrinking of that plaque within the blood vessels. and, you know, this is precisely what president clinton's talking about. he's talked to dean hornish and he believes he has less plaque than with the heart problems. >> we can tell you not only possible it's happening.

thanks, sanjay. a couple of minutes until the top of the hour. we'll be right back. and natural minerals give you sheer coverage instantly, then go on, to even skin tone in four weeks. new aveeno tinted moisturizers.